PLO Fails to Follow Up Request to Open Up an Office in Vienna

The Palestine Liberation Organization has not yet followed up an earlier request to open an official office in Vienna an Austrian government spokesman said today. Chancellor Bruno Kreisky gave the green light some months ago to start serious negotiations with PLO officials to determine the status of the office.

However, the unofficial PLO foreign minister Farouk Kadoumi had postponed two scheduled visits to Austria, the spokesman said. “Now it’s up to them to contact us,” he added. Government sources said Austria will allow the PLO to open a liaison office to carry out activities with the Vienna-based international organizations to which it taxable ##

The opposition Peoples Party has opposed such a move calling the PLO a terrorist gang. The party’s foreign affairs spokesman said in a recent interview: “The development in Lebanon, where Palestinians are struggling for their lives, makes this an unrealistic issue.”